


Man on a Wire

by inkandpaper



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: (sort of), A little bit of fluff, Alternate Universe, F/M, Minor Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 03:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4331448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkandpaper/pseuds/inkandpaper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Captain Swan AU in which Killian is a travelling performer and Emma is a disgruntled audience member.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man on a Wire

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure how long I want this to be, so it kinda depends on what you guys think and how long I want to write in this universe. (Though I will say that I do like writing Emma and Killian like this. It's ridiculously fun.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Feedback, prompts, comments, etc. are always appreciated!
> 
> (Also, title may or may not have been borrowed from the Script's "Man on a Wire".)

When she first hears about the circus coming to town, Emma makes the decision that she will not, under any circumstances, go.

 And then Henry talks about it.

 "The circus is going to be in Storybrooke." He throws it in casually one afternoon as she drives him home from school, his backpack half-open on the seat beside him. Emma catches his eye in the rearview mirror until he turns to stare out the window.

 "And I'm guessing that you want to go see it?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

 She nearly misses the shrug of his shoulders in the rearview. "If you'll take me."

 Emma lets out a breath. Henry obviously wants to go; he's trying much too hard to cover up how badly he wants to go. He's slumped against the door, brows too furrowed and eyes too wide and too bright to for the post-school exhaustion look that he's trying to pull off.

 "I'll think about it."

 (She tells herself that she won't give the matter any thought at all.)

 

~*~

 

Two days later, she hears him mentioning it to her closest friends.

 "I've never been to the circus before," he tells David and Mary Margaret. "There's supposed to be all sorts of cool stuff - trained animals, acrobats, clowns - and I want to see it all."

 Emma cringes. She'd hoped he would forget, but the topic had somehow made its way to the forefront of Henry's mind. Of course.

 "I really hope Mom takes me," he says after a short pause.

 David claps him on the back. "If the baby comes before the circus does, I'll take you."

 Mary Margaret nods, her hands automatically going to her round belly. "If the baby comes before the circus."

 Needless to say, Emma prays that the baby comes early. (She'll do just about anything to get out of going to that infernal circus.)

 

~*~

 

The Nolan baby doesn't come early.

 The circus is supposed to stay in Storybrooke for just two days, and by day one, Mary Margaret is still pregnant and, to Emma's luck, is told that her baby will likely be late - by at least three days.

 Henry makes sure to point this out.

 "David won't be able to take me to the circus," he mentions during breakfast. Normally, Emma would be rushing him out the door for school, but it's Saturday, and saying that neither mother nor son slept in would be a sure lie.

 "Then it looks like you won't be going."

 Henry nearly drops his fork. "You're not going to take me?"

 Emma isn't in the mood to explain to her son why she doesn't want to waste her time at a goddamn circus, so she settles for a frown. "Nope."

 "But it might never come to Storybrooke again! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

 She sighs. "Henry-"

 "Please? I promise I'll do all the dishes for a month! I'll clean the whole apartment every weekend!"

 Emma glances at the clock. "When's it supposed to start?"

 Henry's reply is instantaneous. "Four."

 "Then I'll think about it."

 (This time, she actually decides to give the matter some thought…for the sake of her son.)

 

~*~

 

By three o'clock, Emma has lost track of how many reasons Henry has given her for why he should go to the circus.

 Part of her is stubborn - she does not want to waste money to see some dumb clowns and eat cheap popcorn - but in the end, she can't deny her son this one chance to experience something that she never had the opportunity to see.

 (Besides, Henry had agreed to do extra chores for two months.)

 So when she unbuckles her seatbelt and steps out into the gravel lot that's down by the beach, Henry's excitement is nearly tangible.

 She watches as he bounces in the ticket line, hands visibly shaking and eyes shining brighter than she has seen in a long time.

 "Mom," he says, pulling her by the crook of her elbow, "hurry up! We have to get good seats."

 He drags her into a red and yellow striped tent, the colors bright but clearly weather-worn, and Emma thinks that the structure came from straight out of a silly children's book - flap pulled back to mark the entrance, flags whipping in the wind at the top of the tent.

 The scene inside is similar in essence; too traditional and cheesy for Emma's liking.

 That doesn't stop Henry from squeezing them into front-row seats.

 (When the show begins fifteen minutes later, Emma's expectations are lower than the ground the performers walk on.)

 

~*~

 

At the end of the show two hours later, Emma has to admit that she was expecting worse.

 There had been a tiger that jumped through hoops - predictable, but still entertaining - and some musical seals or walruses or whatever the hell they were. There had been performers on stilts that were altogether taller than the ceilings at Emma's apartment, clowns that did impressions, acrobats that flipped more gracefully than the gymnasts Emma liked to watch during the Olympics. There had even been a tightrope walker - a barefoot man in a ridiculous pirate costume with no net beneath him.

 Generally, Emma had been impressed. (Henry definitely noticed.)

 So when he asks if he can stick around and play some of the carnival games that are set up around the outside of the tent, Emma agrees fairly quickly. She watches him for a while, deciding that it's probably better to stay anyway - if only to avoid the horde of people trying to get back to their cars in the small parking lot - so long as they leave before the bad weather rolls in.

 By the time the sky turns gray and the clouds grow thick, most of the people are gone, and Emma plans on following suit. Henry asks to use the restroom before they leave, and Emma rolls her eyes but tells him to hurry.

 She watches him run off, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes flicking anxiously toward the darkening sky.

 "Enjoyed the show, I hope?"

 Startled, Emma whirls around. Standing before her is a tall man with dark hair, sharp features, and a pair of the bluest eyes she has ever seen.  His hair is ruffled and his hands are absentmindedly fiddling with the strings of a black hoodie.

 "Do I know you?" The man seems vaguely familiar.

 He tilts his head to the side, a smirk blooming across his face. "You did just watch me walk across a wire, lass."

 His voice - god, his voice - is smooth and rough and deep all at the same time, and Emma refuses to even acknowledge the accent that wraps around his words. "That was you?"

 (She's quite proud that she doesn't stutter.)

 "Aye." He sticks out a hand, a small smile gracing his features. "Killian Jones."

 "Emma Swan." She shakes his hand firmly but briefly, trying not to focus on the calloused texture of his skin or the devilishly sinful grin that he flashes her.

 "Swan," he repeats, and - goodness, the way he rolls the syllable around, the way it dances out from between his lips…

 A crack of thunder sounds from above, and Emma's eyes widen. "I have to go," she says, her eyes darting to Killian's mouth. She watches as his tongue peeks out; her knees do not go weak. (Except they do, so she covers it up by moving away.)

 He raises a hand in farewell. "Perhaps I'll see you at the show tomorrow?"

 Emma cocks an eyebrow, lips twisting into a smile. "Perhaps."

 She feels his gaze follow her as she collects Henry and walks him back to her car.

 (She would be lying if she said that it bothered her.)

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued! (Probably.) I actually really kind of like this story idea. Please let me know you liked this so I can keep exploring tightrope walker Killian and cynical Emma.
> 
> And just saying, i didn't intend to post any of this until it was all finished; hopefully posting early will give me motivation for writing it all faster.
> 
> Peace out,  
> Andi


End file.
